


lend me your breath

by boldlygoingnowherefast



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 00:42:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20331208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boldlygoingnowherefast/pseuds/boldlygoingnowherefast
Summary: Taako hadn’t just lost the century aboard the Starblaster. He had lost half of his childhood, half of his heart. Recovering from a loss like that isn't easy, and Kravitz can't take that pain from Taako, but he can be there for him.





	lend me your breath

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who finished TAZ: Balance a few weeks ago. Thank you, McElroy's, for my life.

Kravitz, for all his long existence chasing lost souls and trudging through the very darkest parts of humanity, could not fathom the enormity of what had been taken from Taako. Life was built from experience and toil, from hardship and joy, and to have so much of it ripped from your grasp without your knowledge—Kravitz didn’t know how you lived through something like that, let alone persevered and saved the planar system while you were at it.

Taako hadn’t just lost the century aboard the Starblaster. He had lost half of his childhood, half of his heart. He had lost Lup to the umbrella, and then he had lost her to the voidfish, and it was a testament to his strength of will that he was able to keep so much of himself in those twelve years in the dark, that he was able to remain lucid after they had been returned to him so quickly.

Kravitz had begun to suspect after that first date at the Chug N' Squeeze that there was much, much more to Taako than he let the world see. It was hidden behind layers of sarcasm and wisecracks, but it was there, and Taako had granted him a quick glimpse that clear night when he had told Kravitz the truth. 

_“Because I’m afraid no one else will have me.” _

This brilliant, vibrant elf who risked his life again and again to save people he didn’t know from dangers that he himself knew barely anything about.

To say that Kravitz was enchanted was a bit of an understatement.

And here, after the dust had settled, after the Hunger had been cleared from the skies, after the story and the song and the final breath that filled the lungs of every witness when they realized it was over, Kravitz found Taako and felt warm for the first time since he had died centuries ago.

In the months that followed the day of Story and Song, Kravitz slowly adjusted his existence to fit around Taako’s, and it wasn’t always easy—Kravitz’ only contact with mortals for the longest time had been collecting their souls for his Queen, and how had Kravitz forgotten how _messy_ mortal life was—but Kravitz was happier than he had ever been, and Taako seemed happy too. He had his sister back and his memories back, and the world was safe, and Kravitz loved him.

Kravitz should have known that something was bound to give.

It was two months after the world had nearly ended and then didn’t, and Kravitz was sitting at the kitchen table in Taako’s new apartment, idly reading a novel Merle had given him (Kravitz should have expected that Merle was into trashy romance novels, and they weren’t Kravitz’ usual choice, but this one was entertaining at least) while Taako banged around in the kitchen. Kravitz liked listening to Taako cook. When Taako had company other than his own, his cooking was showy and bold, but when he was alone with Kravitz, he hummed snatches of music and mumbled to himself while measuring ingredients, caught up in his own head.

The sound of shattering glass startled Kravitz from his warm thoughts. He looked up from his book to see Taako standing at the counter, hands held loosely in front of him, expression blank. There was a shattered bowl at his bare feet, but Taako wasn’t looking at it.

“Taako?” Kravitz stood and moved into the kitchen, mindful of the broken glass on the dark tile. “Are you okay?”

“For a moment,” Taako whispered, his voice brittle. “For a moment I thought…” He trailed off. His hands were shaking.

“Taako, babe, can you talk to me? What’s going on?”

Taako’s gaze finally darted to Kravitz, but what Kravitz saw there was not encouraging. Taako was looking _through _him, at something that wasn’t there.

“How do I know I’m not forgetting things?”

“Forgetting things? What do you mean?”

Taako’s hands darted to his hair, and he tugged at the roots with a groan, eyes going wild. “How do I know I’m not missing anything else? How do I know I won’t forget everything again?”

“Taako, the voidfish are gone. They broadcasted everything to _everyone. _There’s no more forgetting, ever again. Your memories are yours.”

Taako let out a harsh breath. “Just now, I thought, _cooking for someone I care for is so nice I’ve never had that before.’” _Another tug to golden hair. “Lup and I grew up cooking for one another. For a split second, I forgot. I can’t forget her again. I can’t.”

Kravitz wanted to reach out and pull Taako’s hands from his hair to prevent more abuse, but he remained where he was, separated from Taako by broken glass.

“After everything you’ve been through, it’s not unusual to experience split-second confusion while you’re distracted,” Kravitz responded. “Your poor brain has been trying to piece everything together, and it’s not surprising that it skips a beat every once in a while.”

Tears were gathering in Taako’s bright eyes, and Kravtiz had had enough of this. It only took a small amount of magic to summon a puff of air that cleared the glass from between them, and then Kravitz was stepping forward and gathering Taako in his arms.

Taako immediately tucked into Kravitz’ hold, and his hands gripped the front of his sweater as if Kravitz would fade away if he let go.

“I don’t want to forget,” he said in a thick voice, muffled into Kravitz’ chest. “I told Magnus one time, before we got our memories back, that it was better to forget than to hurt, but I don’t think that’s true anymore.”

Kravitz’ arms tightened around the shaking elf. “Knowing allows us to heal, and that’s what you’re doing right now, Taako. You’re healing. And sometimes that healing isn’t pretty, but in the end, you’ll be stronger because of it.” He ran a gentle hand up and down Taako’s back in what he hoped was a soothing manner. “I know you’ve been through a lot, and I want you to know that whatever happens, I’m here for you. Healing is a messy process, but you’re not alone. You’ll never be alone.”

Taako was silent for a few long moments, simply allowing Kravitz to hold him. His breath on Kravitz’ neck eventually evened out, and his tight grip on Kravitz’ sweater loosened. Kravitz couldn’t be sure how much time had passed when Taako finally pulled away.

“That was my favorite mixing bowl,” he said with a frown as his gaze landed on the pile of glass that was now collected under the far wall of cabinets.

Kravitz wasn’t sure what was so special about that bowl, considering it was part of a set of two other identical ones Kravitz knew were tucked away in the cupboard, but he didn’t voice those thoughts aloud. “We can go shopping this weekend, and you can find two new bowls to replace it.”

Kravitz knew how much Taako loved shopping for kitchen supplies, and he was rewarded for his intuition by a bright smile. It was a tad more brittle than Taako’s usual smile, but it was real. 

“I’m going to hold you to that, Bone Man. I think I need a new spatula, too. Magnus used my extra spatula to scrape dirt off his shield, the absolute heathen, and I don’t like being down to one spatula, you know how it is.”

Kravitz kissed Taako on the forehead, mentally preparing himself for a day shopping with Taako, which tended to be an ordeal, but one Kravitz gladly put up with because his boyfriend deserved the world, and Kravitz would help give it to him in any way he could. “Whatever you say, babe.”

“You sure know how to pamper your boyfriend. I’m almost impressed,” Taako said. There was a turn to his mouth that let Kravitz know that his gratitude was genuine. Taako used a quick mage hand to clean up the glass, despite the fact that they had a broom and dustpan in the closet, but it only made Kravitz smile fondly.

Taako turned back to his cooking, and Kravitz back to his book, but there was a new understanding between them that things wouldn’t always be peachy, but they were in it together. Kravitz loved Taako, and for him, that was all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> Catch up with me on [tumblr](https://discocrowley.tumblr.com)
> 
> Also, keep an eye out. There is a chance I'll be posting a fancy taakitz AU in the future ;)


End file.
